


Regrets

by Sparesmom



Category: Hart to Hart
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 02:05:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19736161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparesmom/pseuds/Sparesmom
Summary: Jonathan and Jennifer pursue a hostile takeover in a new field while dealing with a midlife crisis





	Regrets

"Do you ever wonder how things would have been different if we had children?" Jonathan sounded different than she had ever heard him. "Do you ever feel cheated that we didn't have kids?" The muted hum of the restaurant faded away as his words sank in and she paused so he would know she wasn't speaking off the cuff.  
"Jonathan, there is nothing about our lives that I would change. I have loved every minute of our marriage."  
"I just feel like maybe I've trapped you in a gilded cage. Like one day you will wake up and resent me for the life you missed out on. Two point five kids, a dog, a house in the country. After the doctors told me it was unlikely I would ever father a child I just accepted it and moved on. I never asked you if you wanted to pursue other avenues."  
"Darling, I have loved you almost from the first moment I met you. I would love you if we were penniless and living under a bridge. I would love you if you looked like the fabled troll from under that bridge. I would love you the same whether we had no children or a dozen. You are my life. No matter what baggage or history comes with that life I will never regret anything about our lives together." Jennifer's voice had risen with her passionate words and a few of the diners nearest them turned to look at her. "And as for that other life you described? We have fifty acres of land. That's as close as you can get to a house in the country and we DO have a dog. So what am I really missing? Our lives are so full that I don't have time to miss the two point five kids.  
She truly didn't feel cheated by their lives at all. She had never been a woman who was crazy about babies. Children were okay, she acknowledged to herself, once they reached a certain age, but babies? All she knew about babies was that they cried a lot and always seemed to be leaking something from one opening or another.  
Truthfully, when Jonathan had sat her down early in their engagement and told her he couldn't father children she'd actually been somewhat relieved. It meant there wouldn't be any ex's with mini Harts coming out of the woodwork. Plus, she really and truly hated her IUD. It had been a relief to have Dr. Paul remove it and not have to worry about it anymore. Now, at 44, she was only half joking when she said she was praying for early menopause so she could be done with the whole thing. Her periods had never bothered Jonathan, he had made many Tampax and Haagen Dazs runs over the years and he was endlessly inventive at finding ways to make love to her, period or not. No, it was her. She hated the inconvenience of it all. Her periods had always been irregular, hence the midnight runs for tampons and ice cream, and despite her doctor's assurance that they would settle down with age they never had.  
She assumed it was his rapidly approaching 50th birthday that had Jonathan talking this way. All in all, she would have preferred that he buy an overpriced red sports car for a mid-life crisis but she supposed discussing a baby that would never happen was better than the mistresses so many of her contemporaries had to contend with. Still, she was grateful when he let the subject drop and turned the discussion to Hart Industries proposed takeover of Enchantment Equipment Supply.  
Enchantment was fighting the proposal tooth and nail but the company had been mismanaged almost into bankruptcy and although Jonathan didn't like to resort to a hostile takeover, he was unwilling to see 11,000 employees put out of work because the third generation owner would rather play golf than run his business. Jonathan and Jennifer both had been quietly amassing Enchantment stock and now between them, they held enough of a majority to force Rand Whitley into early retirement. There was an emergency stockholders meeting scheduled for Tuesday and Jonathan already had long time VP and trusted friend Holden Cooper ready to step in as managing VP, thus avoiding a shutdown and costing employees their much-needed paychecks. Until now Hart Industries had no presence in New Mexico but Jonathan was aware that the state had been struggling with extreme poverty even before the influx of migrants had stretched the state's resources well beyond the breaking point. Enchantment was a major employer and with the recent increase in movie and tv filming being done there, Jonathan sensed an opportunity being wasted.  
Right now Enchantment was manufacturing heavy equipment for the construction industry but there were too many other companies in the field. Jonathan planned to convert the company to supplying the state's burgeoning film industry. Much of the heavy equipment was the same or very similar so production could easily be adapted and an influx of Hart Industry cash would allow for expansion into the manufacture of cameras and sound equipment and the like as well. If all went according to plan Jonathan intended to double Enchantment's employees within the year. 

Chapter 2  
It was the sort of business risk he hadn't taken in the past few years. Not since he had married Jennifer. To tell the truth, he had been having so much fun with her that he hadn't wanted to invest the time and energy such a venture would require. But Enchantment was low hanging fruit. With Holden at the helm, Jonathan would not need to be as hands-on as he might otherwise. And Jennifer had been involved with a few ad campaigns the last couple of years and he had been fascinated by the behind the scenes workings. He supposed most little boys went through a movie star phase but he was much more interested in the mechanics of it all, the way the cameras worked and how a soundboard came together. And, as always, there was that roller coaster thrill in the pit of his stomach. Could he pull it off or would this be the time he crashed and burned? The day he no longer felt that would be the day he gave it all up to spend his days working on his own golf game. And making love to Jennifer of course.  
Right now that was all he wanted to do. She was giving him that look again. He thought of it as her 'dare me' look. It usually meant that if he didn't take her home and make love to her soon she was liable to do something crazy. The last time she had that look he had made the mistake of ordering coffee and brandy. Jennifer had excused herself to the ladies room. When she returned a few moments later she had tucked an impossibly tiny pair of black lace panties into his hand. They were still warm from her body and he had broken a land speed record getting her home. She had definitely made that night worth the risk of a speeding ticket. Things like this were the reason he hadn't felt the need to jump into any major business risks. Jennifer gave him that roller coaster feeling every day. But tonight he was feeling a bit rakish and devil-may-care so he casually wondered aloud if they should order dessert. Jennifer leaned in very close with her lips almost touching his ear, her voice soft and husky, and said: "If you don't walk out of here with me right this moment I will reach under this tablecloth and do something that will leave you in such a state that you will need to carry your menu in front of you in order to walk out of here at all."  
Part of him wanted to find out what she could do to top the trick with the panties but the rational side dropped a few C-notes on the table without even glancing at the bill, their server was about to have a great night too, and hustled Jennifer out to the car. If she was feeling this feisty then she had something special in mind and he didn't want to waste any time.  
The night was balmy with a salt-scented breeze coming off of the ocean as they sped up the Pacific Coast Highway. They had the Bentley's top down and the full moon hung low in the sky etching everything with pale light. Jennifer was using her fingernails on the back of his neck in a way that caused his brain to head immediately for its summer home way down south.  
They had been married for eight years now and had made love nearly every day of it but she still had the power to stop him in his tracks. He had long ago given up wondering exactly how she still managed to have this effect on him and just enjoyed the benefits of it. He'd always had a prodigious sexual appetite but in Jennifer, he had found a lover who not only matched him but still made him feel like a honeymooner. Now looking over at her, the moonlight turning her red hair into some impossible blend of gold and silver, her hazel eyes huge and sparkling with mischief, he fell under her spell all over again.  
Their gate appeared in front of them at last and he keyed the remote, internally cursing the slowness of the heavy gate. He pulled through as quickly as he could without scratching the sides of the Bentley. The last quarter mile up the driveway seemed to take an eternity but at last, he pulled up by the front door.  
The moment she stepped out of the car Jennifer's dress slid down her body to puddle on the ground and he realized that all during the drive she had stealthily been unfastening buttons and hooks. Now she struck a sultry pose, standing before him in just a white silk camisole and another pair of impossibly tiny panties. The last rational thought that fluttered through his mind before he was rendered incapable of thinking was that this stunt must have taken quite a bit of planning and forethought. The easy off dress, Max in Vegas for the week, even the full moon kissing her skin with silver light. He marveled at the effort she put into seducing him, as if he wasn't already a sure thing.  
While Jonathan was busy picking his jaw up off the flagstone driveway, Jennifer leaned back across the hood of the Bentley, stretching her body to make her legs look even longer and causing the already short cami to ride up until the shadow of her ripe breasts was visible below the fluttering hem. Jonathan was undone, and with 3 long strides he was covering her body with his own, his hands scrambling for her thinly veiled breasts and shredding the fragile silk cami in his haste. Jennifer pulled his head down, pressing his mouth over nipples already pebbled from exposure to the night air. She wrapped her legs around his waist, forcing him hard against her. And she fought him when he tried to pull away, until she realized he was merely unbuckling his belt. Her panties fared no better than the camisole had and then he was inside her. Oh God, how was it that they had never discovered this position before now? Her heels urged him deeper, faster. They discovered that without the need to hold themselves up they both had their hands free to touch and explore as they never had before. Jonathan filled his hands with her ass, shifting her even closer. The orgasm slammed through Jennifer almost without warning, hitting her so hard and so fast that she would have collapsed except for the car holding her up. She was still shaking, unable to breathe, when Jonathan emptied himself into her with a primal cry.  
They remained that way, half reclined across the warm hood, breathing hard, sweat drying on their cooling bodies, until Jonathan scooped her up in his arms and carried her across the porch. He set her down to fumble the key into the door and then lifted her again. Jennifer wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head trustingly on his shoulder. This time he didn't put her down until he was standing beside their big walk-in shower. The night was not yet warm enough for such activities and Jonathan had noticed her shiver while he was catching his breath. He adjusted the shower to a comfortable heat and then gently removed the tattered remains of her underclothes. In the light of the bathroom he could see faint shadows of bruises yet to come marring the pale skin of her breasts and hips.  
"Darling, why didn't you tell me I was hurting you!" His voice bounced off of the Italian tile echoing until Jennifer winced at the sound. He didn't mean to yell but he couldn't believe he'd been so carried away with passion that he had actually injured her.  
"Jonathan, of course you didn't hurt me. What we had was wild, and intense, and beyond amazing. Please don't regret it just because my skin marks easily.  
"Besides," She laughed musically. "You'd better check the mirror."  
He turned his head toward her large angled mirror to see what she was pointing at. His back was laddered with long red welts from her fingernails. A few of them even sported tiny droplets of blood where she had scratched him. He had never even felt it happening. She was right. It had been amazing. They made love so frequently that it was easy to forget about the pleasure of fast, hard sex. Still, in the shower he tried to be tender, using her favorite poofy shower scrubbie and body gel until rivers of iridescent foam ran down her body. Unfortunately, he didn't count on Jennifer feeling much more playful than tender. She squirmed. She giggled. She wriggled about like a psychotic dolphin. Eventually, he gave up, rinsed them both off with the hand sprayer and turned off the water.  
She remained just as playful in bed, her laughter bubbling up at the slightest provocation but eventually she settled down. Or so he thought. Just as he was drifting off she leaned in to put her lips right up next to his ear and whispered "You owe me a new pair of panties"

Chapter 3  
The takeover of Enchantment went easier than Jonathan anticipated. It turned out that most of the pushback was coming from the upper-level employees who feared losing their jobs. Once Rand Whitley got a look at his compensation package he was quite happy to turn the reins over to Hart Industries and return to his beloved golf course. Jonathan called a vote to install Holden Cooper as managing VP effective immediately and then addressed the entire factory after lunch to assure everyone that their jobs were secure. Back in the car with Jennifer he called his payroll department and instructed them to coordinate with Enchantment's payroll to confirm that wages were adjusted to Hart Industry standards and any employee who stayed on was to receive a thousand dollar loyalty bonus.  
They were about to pull out when they heard the screams and ran back inside. The knot of employees by the ladies locker room door was getting bigger by the second as Jonathan and Jennifer pushed their way through. Jonathan got there first and quickly turned to shield Jennifer from the sight of the bloody body on the floor until he heard a faint groan. Then they both rushed to the side of the injured woman.  
"Call 911," Jonathan yelled.  
"I already did. They're on their way." A voice from the crowd spoke up.  
"Did anyone see what happened?" Jennifer asked. The woman had been badly beaten. Her face and clothes were bloody and there was a deep gash over one ear. Her forearms were similarly bruised and unless Jonathan was mistaken her left wrist was broken.  
"It was her husband." Came another voice from the crowd. "He's done it before." There were murmurs of assent then a feminine voice spoke above the fray.  
"I told her she needed to get away from him. I told her she could stay with us but she was too afraid." Jennifer could hear sirens in the distance now, approaching fast. She was cradling the barely conscious woman carefully. The woman had grabbed onto her instinctively and she didn't appear to have a neck injury but Jennifer wanted to be cautious just in case. She felt helpless but one look at Jonathan's face told her he wasn't feeling helpless at all. He was enraged. Maybe it wasn't visible to most but she could see a tightening of his jaw and the stiffness in his shoulders as they waited for the EMTs to make their way in.

It was several hours before they were able to return to their hotel room. They hadn't eaten yet but their clothes were stiff and tacky with dried blood and Jennifer looked exhausted so Jonathan put her in a hot bath and ordered room service. Jennifer wasn't nearly as shaky as she appeared but she knew Jonathan was feeling helpless and needed someone to take care of. He was at heart, a very nurturing person. Not just to her but to Max, and to all of those he considered 'my people'. Even those who had only been his people for a few hours. Jennifer knew that, right now, he needed someone to take care of so she let him put her in the bath and didn't object at all when he insisted on carefully washing off the blood that had gotten on her. Actually, it was quite nice when he washed her hair. She leaned back on his strong legs as he lathered and rinsed the thick red mass, slowly massaging her scalp while the conditioner set.  
The food arrived as she was slipping on the robe he held out and he quickly donned his own robe to open the door. They dined on chile rellenos, posole, and blue corn enchiladas and then turned in early.  
Jennifer had expected him to want to make love gently, what she didn't expect was that he didn't let go of her afterward. He held her tightly, still sheathed inside her, and finally spoke.  
"No man should ever be able to treat a woman like that. I don't remember much about the time before the orphanage but I have a vague memory of a couple fighting. I think it might have been my parents. I think he hit her and she fell down." Now Jennifer understood his deep need to take care of her. She had suspected there must be some violence in his early years to make him so tender and protective now. She didn't speak but she wrapped her arms around him and held him until they both fell asleep.

The next morning they visited the hospital to check on the woman they had learned was named Blanca Hernandez and she had four children who were now being cared for by family members. Her husband Miguel also worked at Enchantment but he had a drinking problem and had been reprimanded once again just before the attack. Jonathan assured her that Hart Industries would take care of her medical bills and that her job would be waiting when she was ready to return. Jennnifer scoured the gift shop for some toiletries and other comfort items as well as a couple of paperbacks and magazines to make Blanca's hospital stay easier.  
Their second stop was Enchantment to check in with Holden. He had already increased security and made certain that the entire security team had current photos of Miguel and a standing order to call the police if he was seen and not allow him in for any reason. Jonathan told Holden to deliver $5,000 to help with expenses to Blanca's family as soon as he could get away and make sure the kids have everything they need.  
"We'll get you set up with a company credit card right away," he was saying now, "but in the meantime, you have my authority to draw additional funds at your own discretion to provide for the kids. Blanca is to continue to receive her full salary during her recovery and if she needs retraining or reassignment to a less physical position take care of it. Enchantment is now a Hart Industries subsidiary and Ms. Hernandez is entitled to all the benefits of a Hart employee. My next stop will be the bank and I'll be sure you have operating funds to start making the changes we discussed ..."  
"Code black, code black at gate 3" The crackle of a walkie talkie interrupted him.  
"Code black means Mr. Hernandez is attempting to enter the facility," Holden explained running toward the doors. While Jonathan and Holden ran across the xeriscaping, Jennifer spotted a golf cart parked nearby and jumped in it. When she arrived at the guardhouse Mr. Hernandez had been mostly subdued by the three men but he was still fighting and cursing. Jennifer noticed that they were manhandling him with rather more force than was necessary but the guard was able to get the zip tie cuffs on him and he stopped struggling. She could see that all three wanted to pummel him into the pavement but were restraining themselves. The police arrived just a minute later to arrest Hernandez and the Harts left for the bank.

Chapter 4  
Back at the hotel Jennifer was folding their clothes into the suitcases that afternoon when Jonathan turned her into his arms.  
"I love you, you know." He said quietly. "And I see the difference in what happens between us and what happened here. I just saw those bruises on you and I reacted."  
"Jonathan, you could never hurt me. I trust you with my life because I know you would never let anything happen to me. It's why I feel safe running into these dangerous situations behind you." She kissed him softly and laid her head on his chest. "There is no safer place in the world for me than right here in your arms." Jonathan kissed her forehead and tightened his arms around her. And the curve of her neck looked so sweet and pure that he couldn't resist bending his head to kiss her there. One kiss led to two and two led to four and then he was unbuttoning her blouse and walking backward toward the bed.  
"Jonathan, you're crazy. We're supposed to be checking out."  
"So what. They'll wait for us." He kept kissing her.  
"What makes you so sure?" She asked laughing.  
"I bought the hotel." He slid the lavender silk blouse down her arms and resumed his kissing along her shoulder blades.  
"Jonathan, you're insane. What are we going to do with a hotel in New Mexico?" Her rich laughter bubbled up around him like champagne as he kissed his way down her spine.  
"We will have to be here frequently while we are making the transition at Enchantment but buying a house seemed like overkill." He unzipped her skirt and eased it over her hips.  
"A house was overkill but an entire hotel was reasonable? How is that logical?"  
"The hotel generates income and a suite will always be ready and waiting for us. But if we bought a house we would either have to pay staff to maintain it all the time or go through all the hassle of doing it ourselves every time we fly down for a few days." She seemed to find him endlessly entertaining today, laughing at his lecture on economics while he was trying so diligently to seduce her. "My lips are cold." She pouted sweetly at him causing him to immediately stand up and rectify the situation. Slowly. While he unhooked her bra. Jennifer giggled around his kiss even as she was pushing his suit jacket off of his shoulders. He hooked his thumbs into the strings that made up her panties and started to push them down.  
"Be careful with these, I only packed for a few days. If you tear these I might run out." She wasn't done teasing him yet and he laughed along with her.  
"Well I owe you one pair, I might as well buy you two. There's a Victoria's Secret not far from here. Will you model the lingerie for me?"  
"Right now?" She asked with a smile, pausing in the act of removing his shirt.  
"Definitely not right now." He assured her. "We have unfinished business here." He laid back on the bed and pulled her on top of him. They fit together like two puzzle pieces. "Here's something we can't do at home. Catch hold of the headboard." He instructed with a grin. She saw what he meant, at home, their headboard was a Japanese shoji screen. Very stylish but certainly not built for clutching. Not like this heavy slab of carved oak with a narrow rail across the top, perfect for holding onto. And she understood as soon as she grabbed it. All of a sudden he was moving at a completely different angle than she was used to. She altered her grip just a bit and rocked experimentally. Jonathan just waited quietly until she found her rhythm. When she smiled that smile down at him he slid his hands under her ass helping her move. When she couldn't focus any longer he moved for her. When she trembled he held her steady. And when she climaxed he watched in awe at how beautiful she was.


End file.
